"Western policymakers..may not be dealing with a 'normal' regime' " in Moscow, he claims. It's led by a "cynical and cold-eyed host" he added.

He irresponsibly bashed the one world leader challenging imperial America responsibly. He's our best chance for world peace. Don't expect Brooks to explain.

Roger Cohen is no different. He's shameless. He's one of many Times imperial apologists. BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti calls him a bigot.

On March 3, he headlined "Putin's Crimean Crime," saying:

"The Russian seizure of control of the Crimean Peninsula, a clear violation of the very international law Putin likes to invoke, has turned Ukraine into a European tinderbox."

He called his reason for responsibly wanting to protect Russian nationals "baloney, a trumped-up Russian case."

He lied saying so. He did so willfully. He did it maliciously. He supports US-backed fascist coup plotters. He ignores clear facts.

Ukraine's legitimate President Viktor Yanukovych wrote Putin. He requested help. He did so to restore law and order.

"Under the influence of Western countries, there are open acts of terror and violence" ongoing, he said.

"People are being persecuted for language and political reasons. So in this regard I would call on the President of Russia, Mr. Putin, asking him to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability and defend the people of Ukraine," he added.

At the same time, the safety and security of Russian nationals are threatened. Their lives are in danger. Putin wants them protected.

He didn't invade Crimea. He seized nothing. Obama bears full responsibility for "turn(ing) Ukraine into a European tinderbox." Complicit EU partners share it.

Cohen turned truth on its head. He willfully lied. He did it deceitfully. He turned a blind eye to Washington's imperial lawlessness. He continued, saying:

"Putin's obsession with a (Soviet Russia) 20th-century order..blinds him to the passionate attachment to their nationhood of states liberated from stifling Soviet subjection."

"There is a grotesque amnesia to Russia's Ukrainian gambit."

Fact check

Real democratic governance in so-called liberated states is a convenient illusion. The worst of neoliberal harshness is policy.

Mass impoverishment, unemployment and extreme deprivation harm millions. Cohen's best of all possible worlds are dystopian wastelands. They're unfit to live in. Don't expect him to explain.

He urges hardline US policy. "Pivot to Asia cannot mean abandonment of Ukraine," he said.

"Every form of diplomatic, trade and economic pressure should now be mustered by Obama to isolate Putin," he added.

He wants "every political means used to buttress the Kiev government; and NATO's readiness to defend its members should be ostentatiously underscored."

He represents the lunatic fringe. He practically endorsed war. He supports fascist mob rule in Ukraine.

He ignored US-supported neo-Nazis toppling a democratically elected government. He turned a blind eye to their lawless power grab.

He's mindless of rule of law principles. So are Times editors. Their position shocks the conscience of everyone valuing fundamental freedoms.